Ducks lose out on bid for Pac-12 title

SALT LAKE CITY _ Oregon came up short Saturday, losing to Utah and ending up a game behind UCLA in the final Pac-12 standings.

The 19th-ranked Ducks fell 72-62 to the Utes to finish at 12-6 in the Pac-12, while UCLA ended up 13-5 after the Bruins defeated Washington 61-54 earlier Saturday.

Oregon will thus be the third seed in the Pac-12 tournament next week as California, also 12-6, holds the tiebreaker over the Ducks with a season sweep.

E.J. Singler led the Ducks (23-8 overall) with 21 points. Jason Washburn led four Utes in double figures with 20 points.

The Ducks were playing from behind immediately, down 9-0 and the Utes kept that going, hitting 13 of their first 16 shots on the way to a 44-30 lead at halftime.

The Utah lead grew to 47-30 before the Ducks started coming back. When Singler hit a free throw with 14:45 left, Oregon was within 49-40.

Singler later hit a three-point shot to draw the Ducks within 60-54 with 7:30 left, but Utah’s Jarred DuBois hit jumpers just before the shot clock ran out on consecutive possessions to restore the 10-point margin for the Utes.

Bob Clark is a veteran sports reporter who has covered local and national events for more than 30 years.